Oral Answers to Questions

Dave Doogan Excerpts

Tuesday 6th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Michael Shanks]

Typically, my hon. Friend is right on these points, and yes, it is one of my new year’s resolutions—and I suspect one of my ministerial colleagues’ resolutions as well—for us to redouble our efforts to make the case for this. Just this morning I was reading about yet another study that shows that we underestimate the level of support in the general public for climate action. We have to remember that while there is a lot of noise around this at the moment, the reality is that the public back action on the climate, and it is the right thing to do not just for future generations, as my hon. Friend rightly says, but for our energy security and for good jobs.

[Dave Doogan (Angus and Perthshire Glens) (SNP)]

Refined hydrocarbon fuels are excluded from the Government’s carbon border adjustment mechanism, meaning that although UK refineries face emissions trading scheme costs of £50 per tonne, overseas fuel producers do not. That is clearly incomprehensibly damaging in economic terms and is self-evidently counterproductive when it comes to climate goals. In terms of energy security, it is pure madness. Refining at Grangemouth and Prax Lindsey are two early casualties of Labour’s failure to understand basic economics. Will the Government now act to protect the four remaining refineries in GB, or will Labour continue with its policy of deindustrialisation dressed up as decarbonisation?

[Michael Shanks]

Well, I say a happy new year to the hon. Gentleman, as we see his sunny disposition back in this House again!

First, we committed in the Budget to looking at the CBAM inclusion and are working to make that happen. Secondly, of course I have been working with all the refineries to make sure that they are as sustainable as possible. Thirdly, I think the hon. Member has an absolute cheek to come here and talk about deindustrialisation when his party has failed to have an industrial strategy in Scotland for the 18 years it has been in power and when, just before Christmas, it published the flimsiest of flimsy plans for energy security in Scotland, which was mostly made up of pictures and not by any detail. His party has absolutely no credibility on these issues whatsoever.